Pat dry your whole chicken, and rub 1 tablespoon of sea salt all over the chicken, and inside the chicken. I like to get my whole chicken salted in the morning so that this dry brine can season the chicken, as well as make for a moister chicken. You can put the salt on the chicken anywhere from at least 1 hour in advance up to 1 day. Place the salted chicken on a rack with a pan underneath to catch any juices that run off. You want the skin to dry out!
When you are ready to roast the chicken, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. I use a cast iron skillet for roasting the chicken, but any baking dish or braiser that fits the chicken works.
Sprinkle the cavity of the chicken with ½ teaspoon of dried thyme and stuff the cavity with 4 orange quarters. Tie up the legs with kitchen twine.
Scatter the rest of the orange quarters as well as the onion slices into the bottom of your cast iron pan, and place the whole chicken on top. I like to use the orange slices to prop the chicken wings right up against the chicken so they are tucked in.
In a small bowl, use a fork to mix up the room temp butter, grated ginger, orange zest, orange juice, and ½ tsp dried thyme. Use a small wooden spoon to lift up and loosen under the chicken skin, and squish a good tablespoon of the butter under the skin, onto each chicken breast. Spread the rest of the orange ginger butter over the skin of the chicken breast, wings, and thighs.
Roast the chicken at 425 degrees for 1 hour, and then turn the temperature down to 350 degrees until a meat thermometer registers about 157 degrees (a 4 pound bird might be about done, whereas a 6 pound bird may have to cook another 20 minutes.) As the chicken rests outside of the oven, the temperature will raise to the 165 indicating the chicken is cooked. I use my Meater thermometer during the whole cook, which tells me on my phone when the chicken is ready to pull out. It really takes the guess work out of wondering temp! Once the chicken is done roasting, it will need 30 minutes to rest before carving. This is the perfect amount of time to roast the vegetables. Preheat the oven back up to 425 degrees.
Toss the Japanese sweet potatoes with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tsp of sea salt. Roast for 15 minutes. Add the broccoli florets, and toss with another tablespoon of olive oil and ½ tsp sea salt. Roast the veggies together for another 15 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
To make the orange ginger infused sauce, strain off the pan drippings from the pan, and bring the drippings to a simmer in a small sauce pan. Add the tapioca starch slurry and whisk until thickened, just a minute or so. You can drizzle in honey to taste, as well as sea salt and pepper.